The Landmark College Institute for Research and Training (LCIRT) was established in 2001, although the College's mission to improve education for neurodivergent learners arguably began with the creation of the institution in 1985. As founder Dr. Charles Drake said at the College's first commencement ceremony in 1986, "I treasure the dream that this will become a center for the dissemination of talent and information, not only to this community but to this whole state and the entire region." That dream started taking shape in the 1990s, as faculty and staff began providing professional development to other educators. Then in 2000, the College received a National Science Foundation grant to formally create LCIRT.
Over the past quarter century, LCIRT has worked with thousands of educators to advance learning opportunities for students who learn differently through webinars, in-person trainings, the annual Summer Institute, and the Professional Certificate for Learning Differences and Neurodiversity, among other offerings, as well as employers who want to leverage the talents of neurodivergent thinkers. LCIRT's work also plays a critical role in informing the College's own pedagogy through research projects with faculty members and provides students with opportunities to be researchers themselves.
This video chronicles the evolution of LCIRT through "the first 25 years."